Friday, February 11, 2011

Unspoken Messages

We have begun an important dialogue in my Bible Study that is comprised of women who are much younger than their leader. But before I tell you the topic that I have been pondering non-stop since Wednesday of this week, I need to give you a little background on these women. I want to grow up to be like them. They are deep, they are unfraid to ask the hard questions, and they don't run away from their fears, their doubts, and their struggles. Yet each one is firmly planted on the rock of their faith in Jesus Christ. They know where to turn when the storms come. This shows in their daily lives, their conversations, and their actions. Each week I come away from my time with these seven women renewed and refreshed and so grateful to have them in my life.
And what are we beginning to explore is the concept of:

Unspoken Messages

Unspoken Messages in the Church

Unspoken Messages in the Culture

Unspoken Messages We Receive

Unspoken Messages We Give

Unspoken Messages for Women, for Wives, for Daughters, for Mothers

Unspoken Messages for Friends and Family

As we begin to explore this, we will also be looking, not just at messages, but also at rules -- obvious rules and rules that we keep that we never even think about. Why are we doing this? We are picking apart the concept of obedience to God and the idea of freedom. If it is true that, "It is for freedom in Christ that you have been set free, therefore do not take upon yourselves a yoke of slavery" then we are willing to ask ourselves, where is it that we have unwittingly been enslaved and where have we unwittingly enslaved others? Where are we perpetuating a message that is false and from whence does it come? What is the root of what we believe that governs so much of what we do? How are actions driven by implicit beliefs? I already have a feeling that this could be one of those never-ending conversations that simply turns back upon itself, except for one thing. God keeps showing up. So, I expect that this nice conversation I am currently having in my head with myself and soon with my dear young sisters may, in the end, prove to be life changing for all of us. I sure hope so.

If you would like to comment on messages (good, bad, or otherwise) or rules, please do so. I would welcome your insight.

To close on a lighter note, I saw this sign on a blog that I regularly follow: Gus and Lula. These are not unspoken, but spoken messages. My children used to say that I spoke a language called "Motherese" and that my sayings were "Motherisms." Thus, I think that you will agree that these are classic Motherisms written in the finest Motherese!